Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Lexicon: impossible – improving
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impossible, adj. [Fr. < L.] (webplay: God, men, possible, should).
- Unfeasible; impracticable; not accessible; not able to be done.
- Unbearable; not endurable; [fig.] too heavy to lift.
- Phrase. “Impossible to feign”: unfeasible to produce; a person cannot feign; one cannot pretend to have; a mortal being cannot simulate.
impotence, n. [Fr. < L. impotentia.]
- Inability; condition of lacking power.
- Disability; impairment.
impotent, adj. [Fr. < L. impotentem.] (webplay: nature).
- Inactive; passive; imperturbable; not affected; at peace; [fig.] not publishing; not actively seeking fame as a poet.
- Impossible; futile; not feasible; not achievable; out of the question; [fig.] arduous; extremely difficult.
- Unable; incapable; lacking power; not being able; without the ability; [fig.] indisposed; not inclined; not in a position.
- Weak; feeble; ineffectual.
- Meaningless; insignificant; not interesting.
- Phrase. “impotent to end”: unstoppable; impossible to cause to desist; [the “Being” is not “impotent”; rather, it is not possible for anyone to “end” what the “Being … has begun.”]
impotent, adv. [see impotent, adj.]
Meaninglessly; insignificantly; [fig.] uselessly; futilely; pointlessly; without being able to shed warmth and light.
impoverish, v. [OFr < L. 'make poor'.]
Diminish strength; exhaust energy; cause poverty; reduce to indigence; seem to take away hope; [fig.] fade.
impregnability, n. [see impregnable, adj.] (webplay: moved).
Invulnerability; invincibility; being unconquerable; strong defense; ability to function well; [fig.] success; victory; endurance.
impregnable, adj. [Fr.] (webplay: assault, fortress, moved, taken).
- Impenetrable; imperceptible; [fig.] invisible; hidden; not seeable; not revealed; [metaphor] puzzling; unclear; incomprehensible.
- Unassailable; inviolable; intact; not reducible; [fig.] divine; sacrosanct; eternal; everlasting.
- Invincible; incorruptible; [fig.] everlasting; not really subject to death.
- Not subject; not subservient; not amenable; not yielding; not succumbing; not susceptible.
imprint (-ed), v. [OFr < L. impreměre.] (webplay: father's).
Impress; mark; stamp.
imprisonment, n. [OFr.]
- Incarceration; solitary confinement; banishment to a place; [fig.] seclusion.
- Quarantine; house arrest; [fig.] bonds; constraint.
improving, verbal adj. [Anglo Fr. emprower.]
Profitable; advantageous; beneficial; salutary; healthy; stimulating.